By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
CARSON, Calif. - If the CIF commissioners were looking for a little help unraveling the Southern California Division I picture, they got no help at the Home Depot Center early Saturday afternoon.
In a game that practically mirrored Friday's Los Angeles City Championship, Centennial-Corona overcame a slow first quarter to breeze past Corona and league rival Santiago 42-7 in the Southern Section Inland Division championship game.
Arizona-bound quarterback Matt Scott ran for two touchdowns and passed for two others and Centennial's often overlooked defense scored once and set up two other touchdowns with turnovers as the Huskies (13-1) won their fourth section title, all since 2000.
They now hope the commissioners will pick them Sunday for next week's State Bowl game. The administrators gather to choose the top three section champions from Southern and Northern California in three classifications.
"(The commissioners) will have a lot of pressure on them, that's for sure," Centennial coach Matt Logan said. "I'd love to be a fly on the wall at that meeting."
The most heated selection will likely be between Centennial and Los Angeles champion Birmingham-Lake Balboa (13-1), which beat Carson on Friday by the exact same margin, 41-6.
Centennial and Birmingham, both ranked among the top 20 in most national polls, each have numerous Division I players. Both have premier running backs and fast, active and physical defenses. Both are 13-1.
In their championship games, both overcame slow first quarters and both took care of opponents they beat soundly during the regular season.
Pick a coin.
"I don't know much about Birmingham, but we deserve to go," said Centennial senior linebacker Jerry Hardeman, who made the play of the game with a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown. "We're good on offense and good on defense. And we kick (butt) with class."
Scott, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior, who scored on runs of 26 and 14 yards and completed TD passes of 21 and 45 yards to Ricky Marvray and Raymond White, said the Huskies aren't ready for their season to be done. He rushed for a game-high 75 yards on 11 carries and completed 10 of 15 for 159 yards.
"We've done all we can do," he said. "We'll meet for pizza tomorrow and wait for the decision. It's out of our hands. If this is our last game together, it's a good way to end it."
The lopsided win, of course, was expected considering the Huskies defeated Santiago 69-7 earlier in the season.
The Sharks (8-5), who knocked off a pair of undefeated teams in succession to get to their first final, pulled out all the stops to change the score, gambling on fourth down eight times.
It backfired a few times and Santiago actually did a terrific job stopping Arizona-bound running back Ryan Bass, who had just 44 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
He came in with almost 6,300 career yards and 102 touchdowns.
But the Huskies overcame a big game from Bass with an opportunistic defense that didn't give up a score until 5:24 remaining. Funny, Carson scored the last touchdown of the game in the final minute against Birmingham.
"It wasn't our best game of the season but it was certainly good enough," Logan said.
Centennial's defense, on the field most of the day, was led by senior linebacker Shelly Lyons (12 tackle, sack, interception), defensive lineman Anthony Whitlow (eight tackles, two sacks, fumble recovery) and highly touted junior defensive lineman Vontaze Burfict (nine tackles).
"Our slogan all year is DWC," Logan said. "Defense wins championships."
Santiago pulled out all the stops in the first half, but Centennial still managed a 14-0 lead.
The Sharks went for it on fourth down twice tried several trick plays and actually controlled the ball, 17:09 to 6:51, but it didn't amount to much.
Though, considering the score of the first game, this was a definite improvement.
One of Santiago's gambles practically handed Centennial a 7-0 lead.
On the first play of the second quarter and 4th-and-3 from its own 25, the Sharks went for it, but Anthony Dye fumbled and Centennial's Tony Whitlow recovered at the 26.
On first down, Scott faked an inside handoff, broke outside for a 26-yard touchdown and just like that the Huskies were up 7-0.
"We knew (Santiago) was going to completely key on (Bass)," Scott said. "We just had to stay patient and do what we do."
After one of the more bizarre sequences, the Huskies drove 86 yards for their second touchdown, a 1-yard run by Bass making it 14-0 with 2:11 remaining in the half.
Scott was actually intercepted on the drive, a screen pass that right into the hands of Chris Martin, who then inexplicably fumbled the ball up in the air and Centennial's Marshel Posey caught the ball in the air, giving the Huskies first down at their own 35.
Scott immediate hit Marvray for gains of 17 and 24 yards, which set up Bass' touchdown.
"Our receivers were awesome today," Scott said.
Another Santiago turnover led to a one-play scoring drive for Centennial, which took a 21-0 lead with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter on a beautiful 21-yard TD pass from Scott to Marvray in the right corner of the end zone.
Lyons intercepted a Renny Kruse pass and returned it to the 21 before Scott and Marvray cashed in.
Centennial's defense struck again, this time Hardeman made the play of the game, grabbing a tipped Kruse pass at the Huskies' 35, breaking several tackles, cutting across the field for a 65-yard TD return.
With 1:03 left in the third, this one was done: Centennial 28, Santiago 0.
"When the ball was in the air I had to get it," Hardeman said. "When I started running I saw on opening on the right side and went for it. There's no way I was going to be caught."
The Huskies tacked on another score, a 45-yard TD from Scott to White with 9:51 to play. On a play almost impossible to stop, Scott faked a handoff, sprinted left and looked ready to pitch to Bass.
Instead, he stopped, pivoted and found a wide open White streaking down the left sideline, making it 35-0.
After Santiago failed on another fourth down attempt deep in its own territory, Centennial made it 42-0 just two minutes later on a 14-yard touchdown keeper by Scott.
To their credit, the Sharks never gave in and quarterback Kruse scrambled for a 35-yard touchdown with 5:24 remaining, making it 42-7.
SOUTHERN SECTION INLAND CHAMPIONSHIP
Centennial 42, Santiago 7
Centennial 0 14 14 14 - 42
Santiago 0 0 0 0 - 7
SECOND QUARTER
C - Scott 26 run (Romaine kick), 11:46
C - Bass 1 run (Romaine kick), 3:38
THIRD QUARTER
C - Marvray 21 pass from Scott (Romaine kick), 6:05
C - Hardeman 65 interception return (Romaine kick), 1:03
FOURTH QUARTER
C - White 45 pass from Scott (Romaine, kick), 9:51
C - Scott 14 run (Romaine kick), 7:51
S - Kruse 35 run (Centeno kick), 5:24
STATISTICS
Rushing
C: Scott 11-75, Bass 14-44, Burns 3-14, Sasaki 3-10, Hawkins 1-4, White 2-0. Totals 34-147.
S: Dye 17-61, Davis 6-17, Kruse 11-16, Hawkins 2-13, Iverson 5-12, Connette 1-8. Totals 42-127.
Passing
C: Scott 10-15-1-159.
S: Kruse 6-18-2-79.
Receiving
C: Marvray 4-79, White 2-46, Beasley 2-21, Bass 1-8, Posey 1-5.
S: Barnett 2-32, Berry 1-22, Bernard 1-12, Iverson 1-10, Dye 1-3.
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: Centennial 19, Santiago 13
Total yards: Centennial 306, Santiago 206
Turnovers: Centennial 1, Santiago 4.
Time of possession: Centennial 18:15, Santiago 29:45